Friday, March 25, 2011

In some places, eating meat is prohibited for Catholics on Fridays during Lent. In other countries, it is an act of penance that many participate in. However, today, though it is Friday, it is not required, because it is the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25, 2011):

Canon 1251 Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to the prescriptions of the conference of bishops is to be observed on Fridays throughout the year unless (nisi) they are solemnities; abstinence and fast are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on the Friday of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

While the USCCB mandates abstaining on Fridays during Lent, the CCCB makes it optional.